Five New Year's Eves That Never Were
by Prosperina
Summary: As the title suggests, these are five New Year's Eves that never happened on the show. NH, refers to S2.


**_Summary:_** As the title suggests, these are five New Year's Eves that never happened on the show… except, uh, there's only three. (One word, my friend: shopping.) This was written for the _Lighting Up the Night _challenge at the dareyoutowrite livejournal community.

**_Disclaimer:_** All recognizable characters from _One Tree Hill_ belong to Mark Schwahn & co.

**FIVE NEW YEAR'S EVES THAT NEVER WERE**

* * *

**ii.**

Haley tried not to smile at her pouting husband. She'd dragged him to a party at Brooke's house – "the party of the year, the decade, the millennium!" as Brooke had used for her slogan – despite the fact that he had dragged his heels at the very idea. He'd even pulled out the fake sickness routine, and not in the let's-play-doctor way.

As they stood on the upstairs balcony, it was all too clear that Nathan was _not_ having fun.

None whatsoever.

"Hey," she said, "I know it's our first New Year's together, but are we going to spend _all_ the first holidays cooped up in our apartment alone? We already did that for most of Thanksgiving _and_ Christmas."

"It's fine," Nathan said stiffly.

Haley frowned. Was that hurt in his eyes? A weight settled uncomfortably in her stomach. Did he have something else planned, and had she unwittingly ruined it? Were they going to return home to a candlelit dinner, with the candles completely burnt out?

"Nathan?" She asked slowly. "Is something wrong?"

"No."

"Why didn't you want to come tonight?" She persisted. "Did you have something planned? You did, didn't you? Oh, God, the candles, and – oh my God, our apartment could be on fire! Nathan! We have…"

Nathan grabbed her shoulders to stop her from flailing about. Rambling did that to her. "Hales, our apartment is not on fire."

Haley narrowed her eyes. Well, if he was practically laughing at her, chances are there wasn't a romantic evening waiting for her. "What is _up_ with you, Nathan? You've been acting weird these past few weeks, all moody and quiet. Besides school and basketball, it's like you never want us to leave the house. And Thanksgiving! You wanted to skip Karen's dinner and make our own turkey with just the two of us! I mean, it's sweet and I love you for it, but ever since…" she paused. Notable events of the last few months replayed in her mind. "Is this about Chris?"

"No."

Lie.

Haley tried to look in his eyes again, but he was intent on staring off into the distance.

"Do you think I'm going to leave?"

It was a moment before he spoke.

"I don't—" Nathan started. "It's not like I think you're going to run off without saying goodbye. But, Haley, you had the chance to go on a national tour. And I know you think it's a once in a lifetime thing. But I know that it's not, and that it's going to happen again. And when it does, you're going to go."

"Nathan—"

"Because I'm not going to let you give it up for me." He gave a crooked smile. It broke her heart. "I just want to make sure that, if we don't make it, I have a memory of us on all the important days."

Haley couldn't stop the tears from trickling down her face, and she couldn't find the right words to say. She wanted to tell him that they'd always be together – _always and forever_ – but he was right. She couldn't even promise him that.

It didn't matter. Nathan didn't expect words. He just opened his arms and she stepped into them, and they stood there long into the beginning of the new year.

* * *

**iii.**

He pulled her into an empty alcove upstairs, while the party continued below them. She giggled as she tripped into his arms – she'd never been able to hold her champagne well.

In the distance, he could hear the countdown start.

_10..._

He knew that he should be downstairs. It was written in his contract somewhere that he needed to be seen at countdown, say something appropriately promotional to the press. It was not only his basketball talents that earned him money, after all, it was also his face.

Instead, he was here, with the woman he never could stay away from.

_8..._

It was dark. He used his hands to see her, to trace the outline of her body. These were the slender shoulders he kissed to wake her up in the morning; the now flat waist that had swelled with their first son; the smooth legs that he loved to have wrapped around him.

_5..._

His lips traveled the column of her throat. He could feel every bump and curve, and the beginnings of a slow purr. When it became his name, he smothered it with his mouth, turning it into short gasps.

_3_

It felt like pure heat was flowing through his veins. The ground shook beneath them, and it could have been the celebrations below, but more likely it was them.

He knew he should be careful of the plaster against her bare back. If the motions were any harder the plaster might fall through, surrounding them with white dust, but there may as well have been someone chanting in his head.

Maybe it was her.

Break. Break. Break. Break. Break.

_1_

Fireworks went off in Nathan's mind.

"Haley," he groaned, burying his face in her hair, trying to calm the race of his heart.

_Happy New Year._

_I love you._

A few minutes later he slid away from her.

She straightened her clothes, and gave him one last peck on the lips before returning to the party.

Nathan didn't follow her. Couldn't. He already knew that when she stepped into the light, she'd have green eyes and black hair and look nothing like the woman he loved.

But in the dark, for a few minutes, he managed to pretend.

* * *

**iv.**

Haley stepped through the doors of Deb's Diner for the first time since she left for college a few months earlier. Deb gave her a friendly smile and motioned for her to go upstairs, and then turned back to the man with the supplies.

Poor Deb, Haley thought. She couldn't remember the last time Deb had a New Year's Eve off.

When Haley reached the roof of the diner, she was immediately accosted from behind. Someone covered her eyes with their hands and she was about to do some serious elbowing when she recognized that person's touch.

"I should warn you," she said, "I've taken up karate. Better move away before I accidentally flip you over the side."

Nathan scoffed. "I'd like to see you try." He released her anyway and spun her around to give her a bear hug.

"Hey, buddy," she smiled. From day one of the separation, phone calls had gone back and forth between the colleges, but seeing him in person was a whole different story. "I've missed you. And you look even taller, if possible. Is that possible? How can you still be growing if I stopped at fourteen?"

Nathan smirked. Her heart did some sort of flip-flop move. He must've been perfecting that smirk, because it'd never managed to do that before.

"I told you to eat your avocadoes," he said. "But did you listen? _Nooooo_."

Haley turned up her nose. "That didn't make you tall. It just made you flabby for a semester in sixth grade."

"Flabby? You calling me flabby? Feel my bicep." Nathan flexed an arm in her direction.

"Uh, do I have to?" She mumbled.

"Feel it," he insisted.

She reached up and gave a light squeeze. "This is so tacky," she muttered, hoping the raging blush on her cheeks wasn't too obvious in the dim light.

"Oh, shut up," Nathan grinned, then slung an arm around her shoulders. "Come on," he said. "We have prime seats here."

He led her to the spot near the edge of the building, and they settled down onto the blankets where they'd spent the last ten New Year's Eves.

"Ah, the Haley and Nathan tradition," he said as the first few pops sounded. "I'm glad you managed to make it back in time. It wouldn't be the same without you."

She smiled, leaning her head on one of his non-flabby arms. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too," he smiled back.

They were locked in that moment until there was a loud crack in the distance, and smatterings of bright lights flared across the sky.

Every year on this day, without fail, Haley sat on this roof with Nathan and there were fireworks.

* * *

**FIN**

(Except, you know, **i.** and **v.**)


End file.
